My husband’s birthday lands smack dab in the middle of the hot & humid Wisconsin summer. Not a good time to bake a cake. Fortunately, what he wants, what he’s always wanted, isn’t actually a cake. It’s an ice cream cake. Up until this year, that meant a quick trip to the local Dairy Queen for a vanilla fudge crunch million calorie, artificially-flavored, but oh so yummy concoction. Not this year. Now that I’m gluten-free and dairy-free, it hardly seemed like a good idea to go the DQ route. But, it was still too darn hot to bake. What’s a girl to do? Get creative with a few pre-made ingredients and a whole lotta love. And, voila! It’s the Better Than Dairy Queen “Ice Cream” Cake.

In a small springform pan or gelatin mold, layer 1 pint of frozen dessert, the crumbled cookie and the chocolate syrup. Top with the second pint of chocolate syrup. Freeze solid. Unmold from the pan. (If using a gelatin mold, you may need to submerge the pan in warm water briefly to get it to release.) Top with chocolate chips and return to freezer until ready to serve.

Thanks everyone! Laura – nope, that chocolate layer is the crumbled cookie & the chocolate syrup. But, you could definitely put a chocolate layer in it! I almost went with chocolate layer, but then the cookie dough called out to me and I just had to listen.

This is a stunning ice cream cake, Deanna. It’s no wonder it gets so many views. I actually made a gluten-free ice cream cake with Son for his girlfriend years ago. It wasn’t dairy free, but the other ingredients were homemade. It came out beautiful and good, but that was before my blogging days. Don’t know if there’s a photo somewhere. Anyway, I love the cake and may recreate it for Son for his birthday as he’s now gf/df + more.

Home made is so much better. I did one this year again, for the kiddo’s dad. And, used some home made GF cookies. Way tastier. But, I still used the store bought ice cream, because I’ve never been able to come up with an ice cream that keeps its texture after being in the freezer a while.

Looks delicious. My boyfriend’s birthday is this Friday and his family always gets Dairy Queen ice cream cakes. I was thinking of making a gluten-free one so I could indulge, too, but want to make sure it’s as delicious as he’s used to. (And easy to make because I am so not a gifted-in-the-kitchen girl.) Looks like I might have found a winner. Thanks for posting this!